Sunday 20 June marked the closing Ladies Day Race for the Audi Winter Series. A chilly winter’s day with light to moderate east to nor-east breezes greeted the competitors. A fleet of 66 yachts took to the water in four divisions – 2 non-spinnaker divisions and 2 spinnaker.

In Non-spinnaker Division 1, Alpha Carinae placed first skippered by Debra Barker, with Callista helmed by Victoria Whitby and Deborah Minnet second and Never a Dull Moment helmed by Denise Wilson third.

“Today we had perfect conditions for a ladies day race”, said Victoria Whitby, co-skipper of Callista. “It was a quieter fleet than I expected and I was a little nervous on at the start.”

“We had more ladies than men on our boat – but the owner Tim Flahvin kept shouting out instructions to us throughout the race! We had a bit of a hairy moment at the first mark but then a great run down to the Bradley Head mark under a headsail, with three boats following us. When we rounded the Garden Island mark there were three boats in front of us but it was really difficult to tell who was sailing in the non-spinnaker and spinnaker divisions. We ended up in a match race with Rattle & Hum to the finish line. The owner of the boat Tim was very ecstatic as he never thought we would get a podium finish.” said Victoria.

Co-skipper Deborah Minnet also added “It was great weather combined with a great atmosphere that made for a really great race! The skipper/owner and crew were all in different positions today and they came together really well. Onboard we had a collegiate atmosphere with my mum providing packed lunches for the crew complete with apples & muesli bars. We even went up to the podiums in our “school uniforms. It was a great way to end the season,” concluded Deborah.

In Non-spinnaker Division 2, Hornblower skippered by Merzena Mizgalska placed first with Time Out skippered by Louise Devine second and L’Eau Co helmed by Jenny Brockhausen third.

“This is the first time I have ever skippered in my life,” said Marzena on board Hornblower. “I was concentrating so hard that I didn’t have time to look where the other boats were, so I was completely shocked when we crossed the finish line and the gun went off and the crew said we’d finished first,” said an ecstatic Marzena.

“We had really nice wind all through the race and I am really pleased with the way we steered (mostly in a straight line) which avoided too many tacks. I had done a bit of extra training for today’s race since I have only been sailing since October 2007. It is enjoyable sailing with a great bunch of people – special thanks must go to Peter Campbell and Steven Sweeney who have taught me a great deal. Thanks for the opportunity to helm – I could have done it without the crew and guidance from Peter & Steven,” concluded Marzena.

In Spinnaker Division 1, X3 skippered by Amanda Scrivenor placed first with Panther, skippered by Nicky Souter second and Vanguard with Amanda Wilmot helming third.

“It was a fantastic day out on the water. The conditions were perfect for the 13 people we had on board. We had the ideal weight onboard for the conditions,” said Amanda Scrivenor from X3. “It was really nice to have some breeze today and I am very happy with the result – and so were the owners of X3 Michael McMahon & Warwick Miller. It was a great opportunity to steer the boat, which has given me some extra sailing experience.”

In Spinnaker Division 2, Rattle & Hum, skippered by Leslie Hunt first, with Larrikin, skippered by Sue Elliott second and C Horse with Jennifer Wells at the helm third.

A perfect race to complete the Audi Winter Series 2008 – Jennifer Crooks